The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines announced that 879 Filipino crew members from the cruise ship Norwegian Joy arrived in Manila. According to DFA press release the first batch of 586 Filipino seafarers arrived from Aruba on 06 March, at the NAIA Terminal 1. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings arranged two chartered flights for the first repatriation group - Wamos and a TUI flight from Aruba. The second batch arrived on Monday, 08 March said DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Y. Arriola.

“NCL previously reported that the vessel does not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19 onboard. It also stated that they have not received any confirmation from CDC about COVID-19 positive cases for persons who have been onboard.” said Undersecretary Arriola.

The repatriated Filipino seafarers will be once again quarantined at two facilities, Savoy Hotel Manila and Holiday Inn Express, before returning home.

The second ship, Norwegian Encore, which is assigned to sail the non-essential crew back to Asia, is currently sailing towards the Suez Canal. According to our sources, Encore is scheduled to arrive in Manila on April 11. 

In January NCLH announced that the company made a difficult decision to repatriate thousands of non-essential crew,  when they hoped to restart cruising earlier in 2021. NCLH boarded thousands of crew members back in November and December 2020, to prepare several cruise ships for a possible restart and compliance with the CDC regulations. However, with the latest cancelations of operations, the company realized they are not going to be starting anytime soon.

Photo Credit: OFW Help